Dusk Quest
by Light Flame Blast
Summary: After awakening one of the most dangerous evils to exist, gym leader apprentices Tate and Liza must team up with unexpected allies in order to clean the mess they started. Rated T as precaution. (Cancelled)
1. Mt Pyre

There was silence in Mt. Pyre. The area had been recently closed down to the public due to numerous sights of ghosts lurking about the graves and scaring visitors. It was yet to be known if they meant any harm, but the authorities had decided on the safest option, much to the dismay of the deceased people's families.

The mountain was located in the middle of the ocean, the closest city being Mossdeep. It was close enough to be reached by sailing for some hours, but the recent events caused by Team Magma had left Hoenn in a critical financial _crisis._

As such, the mountain was yet to receive effective guarding twenty four hours a day, which meant it was still possible to break in during certain nights.

"L-Liza, come on!" Squealed the high pitched masculine voice at the entrance. The boy was a pityful sight, shivering wildly under his thin clothes while looking fearfully around. The presence of his solrock right behind him didn't seem to calm him. "We aren't supposed to be here!"

"Naaah, Tate, stop being so boring!" The girl, Liza, giggled happily as she nudged her twin brother. "Life isn't fun without risks! Besides, these are just pokemon! I'm sure they wouldn't hurt us!"

"T-they are ghosts! You can never tell what a ghost is up to!" Tate protested, shifting closer to his always stoick solrock. He looked back every now and then to make sure their boat was still where they had left it. That seemed to amuse Liza.

"It's our chance to learn something about them, dummy. You're always so happy about researching new pokemon and a few shady guys scare you like that? Man up, bro!" She taunted, turning to her lunatone. "Moonlight, could you please open the gates with Psychic?" The meteorite pokemon rocked slightly in understanding, its eyes glowing.

The two large gates leading into the building slid open with a horrible screech, startling both of the young gym leader apprentices. The gates revealed a large concrete complex filled with gravestones, though the moon's poor lighting made it impossible to read the scriptures or check the pictures.

"Summer, use Flash." Tate murmured. The solrock floated into the building and its body began glowing brightly, illuminating the surroundings.

"Well thought." Liza praised, carefully stepping after Summer, Tate and Moonlight following hesitantly. "Hello? Anyone? Ghosts?"

No response aside from the echo of her voice.

"Nobody's here, great!" Tate hopped animately, grabbing his sister's hand and trying to drag her out. "Come on, Liza, let's go back! Papa will find out!"

"No!" Liza stomped stubbornly on the floor, freeing her hand from Tate's grip. "I wanna see what's in here! Besides, we are gym leaders, we are supposed to take care of trouble should it happen!"

"We are apprentices!" Tate shouted in exasperation. "Papa can take care of any-"

His sister was already running upstairs with Moonlight.

"You gotta be kidding me." He murmured, running after her with Summer on his tail.

The second floor was much like the first, except for the graves' placement. Liza ran straight past it to the third floor, leaving a breathless Tate pathetically trying to keep up.

But as Summer flew by the stairs and its Flash briefly lit the graves, he was sure he had seen something moving.

Once boy and pokemon finally reached the third floor, they found a snickering Liza with her back turned to another large gate.

"What took you so long?" She taunted as Moonlight pushed the gate open with Psychic, causing fresh air from outside to flush into the building. "C'mon, let's go check the summit. Maybe the ghosts like to take some air sometimes."

Even Liza had to admit that the external graveyard was quite unsettling. The patches of grass constantly moved under the wind, causing both siblings to jump from time to time. The wind blew through cracks in the mausoleums and produced an unnerving, continuous howl that seemed to grow louder and louder as the twins stepped up to the summit.

Maybe this hadn't been a good idea, after all...

"Houdy, houdy!" A cheerful voice exclaimed as a grey blur popped out of the shadows, coming to hover right before Tate and Liza's eyes.

"OH GOODNESS!" He screeched, jumping and landing on his back a few meters away. A startled Summer quickly put itself in the way and blasted the ghost with fire.

The pokemon simply melted back into the shadows to avoid the Flamethrower, laughing as it reappeared at a respecful distance from the solrock. "My, my, that's a scared one."

The ghost had a peculiar appearence, as it was to be expected. It looked like a floating head covered in a tattered grey cloak, sporting a skull-like face. The pokemon seemed to be hollow, a single bright red eyeball glowing inside that void and lazily shifting between eye sockets.

"Jeez!" Liza shouted, though in delight. She hopped excitedly towards the ghost, Moonlight floating right above should the newcomer attack. "What kind of pokemon are you? What moves do you know? How many of you are there? How can you talk?"

"Heeeeeeey!" The ghost protested, chuckling lightly as it stared the girl up and down. "I am allowed to answer the first question. I am what you call a duskull."

"That's so cooool! Tate, it's a ghost! A real one! Can I catch you?" Liza pleaded with a delighted expression, calling over Moonlight for a battle.

The duskull produced two stubby arms from its sides to raise its hands defensively. "Hold your ponyta, lass. I came to request your assistance. We can talk that over later."

"Assistance? For what?" Tate asked, eyes narrowed.

"My master. He is in trouble and the rest of us are unable to help him. Care to follow, kiddies?" Duskull asked with a friendly tone as it began floating further towards the summit, the twins tailing after it.

As the duskull led Tate and Liza up to the summit, it was clear that it was not the only ghost in the surroundings. More curious creatures began to take shape from the shadowy mausoleums.

They came in many forms. Most seemed to wear a rag over their heads, usually together with doll-like creatures. Many odd bugs floated motionlessly by the shadows, flanked by a couple of humanoid felines with jewel eyes. There were some other duskull as well, together with a few cyclop-like ghosts.

They spoke in a strange language, though the stares given to the twins made it clear that they were the subject. With their psychic abilities, they could feel curiosity, malice, fear and even pity among the crowd.

"Duskull...w-what's going on?" Tate asked, looking nervously around at the ghostly crowd. "Will they hurt us?"The duskull chuckled, sinking into a shadow to reform beside Tate. "No worries, buddy. You kids just have to help our Alpha and I'll make sure you leave unscathed."

It sounded genuinely willing to defend them, which helped calming Tate.

They finally stopped at a small stone plateau at the very top of the mountain, where a strange rock carved all over by scriptures lay.

"I have brought them, Alpha." The duskull spoke to the stone, fear visible in its voice. "They can help you."


	2. Spiritomb

**Tate's POV**

Something was off, I could clearly tell. While I wasn't the best of the psychics, I could sense this kind of disturbance. There was something of malevolent about that stone, something so ancient and so evil that it could almost burn me just by existing. Even our guide duskull, a _ghost_ , was obviously uneasy near it.

Be _careful_ Summer's soft voice echoed in my head. I shot my solrock a surprised glance. Summer never spoke unless the situation was serious. That cleared any doubts.

"Liza." I whispered, nudging her. "Let's leave this place. It's trouble." She didn't seem to hear me, though. It seemed like she was listening to something.

It was then that I heard the voice.

It started as faint whispers in my head and I initially dismissed it as one of the ghosts behind us. But then I realised they were speaking in my language.

" _Free me_

 _Help me_

 _Please_

 _You will be rewarded_

 _All your dreams_

 _Free me_

 _Just_

 _Break the stone_ "

That voice was persuasive, seductive. It was as if every word offered me endless prizes and joys, every sentence bringing me closer to the strange stone. I just needed to break it. What could go wrong? I would be rewarded...

 _Sir! Don't let it take you over!_

I felt Summer's usually serene conscience aggressively breaking into my mind. The solrock destroyed the hypnotic effect of the voice, wiping it away completely. As soon as I returned to my senses, he left as abruptly as he came.

"Whoa..." I shook my head, blinking rapidly. "Thank you, partner." I tapped the solrock, who nudged me in response. I looked over at Liza and gasped.

Moonlight wasn't having nearly as much success in snapping her from the trance. Liza kept advancing towards the stone, a look of determination and desire in her face. The voice was too strong for her.

I noticed a purple fog flowing from the stone, quickly encircling my sister. The ghost, or whatever that thing was, seemed to be blocking Moonlight's attempts to lift Liza with Psychic. By this point, she was standing right before the stone, extending her arms to pick it up.

"Liza, no!" I screamed, rushing forwards. She didn't even look at me. The purple fog reacted, though, and immediately lashed forwards. To my shock, something physical struck me in the chest and whipped me away. I was knocked off the plateau and Summer barely caught me. "Duskull, what's going on?!"

"The Alpha will be set free." The duskull murmured, tilting his head-like body in a way I assumed meant confusion. "But...there's something weird about that."

I couldn't question him, as in that moment Liza grabbed the stone and lifted it with a strength I never imagined she had. She took a moment staring at it with dreamy eyes, probably seduced by the promises the voice made. She then grit her teeth and screamed defiantly, lifting it over her head.

"I free you!"

And then she tossed it violently to the floor.

The strange stone shattered into dozens of pieces as it crashed into the floor, making a horrifying sound that resembled a twisted laugh.

In the middle of the wreckage, a small purple orb hovered. It emanated unbealiavable power, so much I could clearly feel the energy trying to tear through me from my position many meters away.

"Oh, no..." The duskull murmured nervously next to me. "No...not that way..."

Liza was standing pathetically in front of the orb, blinking rapidly and stumbling. She had a look of astonishment in her face, as if she couldn't tell how she had gotten there. "T-Tate? W-what's happening...?"

What happened afterwards will haunt me forever.

The orb sprang from its spot towards Liza, hitting her chest and disappearing into her. My sister screeched in pure horror, and I could only join her as she was overtaken by a bright purple light. Liza collapsed to the floor, convulsing, wheezing, screaming, the light now as a concentrated line tracing through her veins.

Another light, a white one, was suddenly expelled from her chest at high speed, straight into the stone's remains. It braked abruptly once it was in the very middle of the debris and, right before my eyes, the stone reformed around it, encasing whatever was that light in its ominous core.

"LIZA!" I rushed to my sister's side and knelt by her, desperate. "Liza!" I tried to flip her over, to check for injuries or any clue of what the heck was going on. But as I touched her skin, I recoiled from a burn in my fingers."L-Liza?"

I tried to use our link to reach her. We still had to refine it in order to properly communicate, but we could still get our emotions across.

However, the conscience I felt was entirely different from Liza's. In horror, I backed away as her body twitched and raised to its feet.

"What's going on?!" I tried to extend my hand again, but two ghostly arms quickly held my waist and dragged me away.

"I'm sorry, lad." It was the duskull. "This wasn't supposed to go like that..."

"Like what?" I gulped, quickly looking back at him before returning my gaze to Liza. My eyes widened.

When Liza's eyes opened, they were glowing in a deep, ghostly green. Her mouth cracked a horrible smirk, revealing the same light inside. The purple fog from before was swirling all around her.

" **Free at last**." Liza-no, the creature that took Liza over laughed with a twisted masculine voice. It clenched its fists, smirking at me. " **I shall thank you and your foolish sister, mortal, for nobody has ventured into Mount Pyre during nighttime for a long while**."

"W-who are you?!" I squealed, backing away more. Summer and Moonlight positioned themselves between me and the monster, though both were as puzzled as me. "What have you done to my sister?!"

" **I suppose you deserve to know.** " The creature conceded, taking a confident step forwards and causing the surrounding ghosts to back away. " **I am called Spiritomb. I am the Prince of Death. The Herald of Doom.** "

"S-Spiritomb? Y-you are real?!" I squeaked, my eyes widened in fear. I had heard tales about the Spiritomb. Everyone had.

The Spiritomb had once been a powerful clan composed of 108 warriors. Despite their extremely low numbers for an army, the warriors could decimate entire kingdoms all by themselves. Ruthless and outright cruel, barely any ever survived a confront with the Spiritomb Clan to tell the tale. According to the legend, the havoc caused by them eventually would have called the attention of the gods themselves. Enraged, they would have brutally slaughtered all 108 warriors. Their spirits would then have been cursed for eternity by being merged into one single, hideous beast and trapped inside the Odd Keystone, an unbreakable coffin. The truth about their fate was never actually known, but the beast was apparently there, in front of me, possessing my twin sister.

I hate legends.

 **"Oh, I see you have heard my about me.** " Spiritomb smirked widely. " **I was** **trapped in the Odd Keystone centuries ago. I tell you, young man, that is a horrible place to be. The boredom and lack of proper movement could drive anyone to madness. But of course a little rock wouldn't trap the Spiritomb Clan forever, yeah? Your sister very kindly set me free...by taking my place."**

"WHAT?" I stared at the stone, or Odd Keystone, as it had been called. I remembered the white light orb that had been imprisoned in there. "She's in there?!"

" **Yes. I have tried to escape on my own, but turns out too much power was put into this stupid cage. The Keystone needs a desgraced soul to curse upon and nothing can change that.** " Spiritomb grinned, lifting its hand. To my further astonishment, if that was even possible, purple flames appeared on its palm, which I recognized as Will-O-Wisp. **"Good, I can still do that. Now, I need some practice with this new body. I hope you will offer me a good challenge**."

I barely had time to dodge the ghostly fireball before Summer and Moonlight sent a Psychic wall to try and lift Spiritomb, who cackled as it harmlessly went through its body. It then summoned two Shadow Balls and hurled them at both psychics. The subsequent explosion knocked them into a mausoleum. " **Weak**."

A second Will-O-Wisp came towards me, and I couldn't dodge it this time. Though the impact never came, as the duskull tackled me into the nearest shadow and the world disapeared beneath us. For a moment I could only see darkness as I sunk into that strange realm, before a pull on my back brought me a few meters from where I had been standing. As sickening as the experience had been, I somehow stood my ground.

"What's wrong with you?!" I snapped at Spiritomb, stomping on the floor. "Why do you want our deaths so badly?!

" **Oh, young man. I thought it was obvious**." The monster cackled maniacly. That didn't feel right in my sister's body... " **I get POWER. Every soul that composes me enhances my power further and further. I used to be more than one entity, you see. But they cursed us all together into a shadow of what we once were, a parasite stuck to a rock.** " It had now taken on a bitter tone. " **But this shall change. I will gather more energy. I will find a way to dispose of your pathetic sister's body and split back into the glorious Spiritomb Clan. And then this damned world shall feel our wrath once more!** "

The Spirtomb Clan coming back to terrorize the planet...

All because of our curiosity...

"You lied to me, you dirty specter!" The duskull hissed furiously at the entity, floating forwards. "You never mentioned anything about stealing someone's body! You never mentioned anything about going on a killing spree!" In his fit of anger, the skully ghost formed a Shadow Ball between hands and launched it at full force towards Spiritomb. The orb of darkness exploded right at Liza's face, sending the current occupiant tumbling back to a wall. The horde of ghosts screeched in bewilderment.

"Duskull!" I shouted, watching in horror. That explosion should have caused major burns to Liza's face. Maybe completely ruined it. Maybe in such a state she couldn't ever be healed should she ever return to her proper body.

But to my shock, and relief, Spiritomb regained balance within seconds. Aside from looking slightly charred, Liza's face was completely intact.

" **Shadow Ball. That is your attempt to stop me. A Shadow Ball** **.** " Spiritomb scowled, shaking its head slowly, arms crossed. " **I expected more from an old crook like you. As for lying to you, _of course_ I did. There is no such thing as honor between ghosts. Any phantom knows that!**."

The duskull flinched at those words, backing away slightly. "Alpha...I won't let you void these three as well."

" **Very well, I will void four**." Spiritomb smirked as it watched Summer and Moonlight flanking me. It then turned to stare at its fellow ghosts. " **But as your very generous Alpha, I will let my dearest minions draw the first drip of blood. Pick wisely.** "

The sight of a howling horde of ghosts storming towards me and three innocent pokemon-actually two, the duskull was pretty much responsible for this-finally had me realise that perharps running might not be a bad idea.

Unfortunately, I still needed the Odd Keystone in my hands if Liza was really in there. And Spiritomb was in the way.

"Summer! Moonlight! The stone!" I shouted through the screeches before being knocked over by one of the jewel eyed things. The little monster hissed at me as I desperately tried to keep it away from my face, its claws sinking into my skin.

A well aimed Shadow Ball sent it flying away as the duskull fought to reach me through a horde of ghostly bugs. They looked ridiculously fragile, each falling motionlessly and disappearing everytime it was struck by a move. I didn't take long watching before looking for Summer.

My solrock was bravely fighting off the ghosts with Flamethrower and Psychic while shielding Moonlight. She was desperately trying to move the Odd Keystone with Liza, but an amused Spiritomb blocked every attempt simply by staying in the way. I could have ordered an attack to at least move it or slap that infuriating grin off, but I couldn't bring myself to harm Liza, no matter how durable her body had become.

Both looked injured and exhausted. After a Flash from Summer blinded the attackers, Moonlight finally spoke. _Go! Save yourselves! I will try and help her!_

As much as I hated the idea, it was indeed a lost battle. Powerful as they were, my three helpers couldn't take on a horde of ghosts for much longer. I was almost immediately proven correct.

A blur appeared behind her and I barely had time to shout her name before one of the doll monsters struck the powerful lunatone with Shadow Claw, bringing her down to the ground. She screamed in pain and surprise, unable to move as the doll pinned her.

"NO!" I jumped at the pokemon to try and stop it, but I simply went through it. Cackling wildly, the creature shot me a sadistic smirk and swatted me away before raising its arm and bringing down a devastating Knock Off directly into Moonlight's eye.

A lunatone's eyes are located laterally in its head, crimson little pearls that serve as the last line of defense ro reach the pokemon's insides. In contrast to the rest of the body, however, a lunatone's eye is a relatively fragile organ. It is able to withstand shockwaves caused by impacts across the body, but if attacked directly it may break and expose a vital spot: the brain.

That is usually not a big issue; lunatone's thick skull leaves little of its eyes exposed, and they are rarely targeted in a battle, as warned to trainers who face one. Liza once had to spend a week treating a crack Moonlight had received in her eye during a battle after a challenger's vigoroth scraped it. It had been an accident, and the boy took extra care in his rematch not to repeat the same mistake.

In this case, however, the supereffective Knock Off had been aimed _directly_ into Moonlight's eyes, with clear intention to kill. The crimson orb was crushed under the impact and her brain, jabbed. Moonlight screeched in agony, thrashing wildly against her aggressor. It was futile, however; a second Knock Off hit her brain square, squashing the organ, rupturing veins. The meteorite pokemon immediately went limp.

"MOONLIGHT!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. The doll monster was scorched by a direct blast from Summer's Flamethrower and disappeared in the shadows with a deafening screech, but the damage was done. I knelt down and tightly embraced the lifeless body of my sister's lunatone, tears dripping down on her hard skin. She hadn't been nearly as close to me as Summer was. I still considered Moonlight a close friend, however. Ontop of that, she was pretty much Liza's other half.

Two halves. Both lost.

" **Excellent performance, I must admit. You really got some nerve after all.** " Spiritomb chuckled, clapping. " **The banette responsible for this shall be rewarded later on. Now, for the other three..**." It was cut by a sudden fit of coughing. It was so intense, so agonizing that its minions looked back at their leader in confusion as it leaned against a wall for support.

 _Sir, we have to go now. It's our chance!_ Summer mentally poked me, urging me towards the exit. Part of me knew he was right. We couldn't defeat the Spiritomb. It pained me to leave Liza, though. I couldn't betray her like that! Not after what they had done to Moonlight!

"Duskull." I called lowly. The skully ghost glanced at me with its shifting eye. "Would you be able to track me down from a distance?" Upon his nod, I continued. "Take the stone. Bring it to me. No matter what you do, don't let them have my sister."

Summer didn't wait for a reply. Tapping on his last forces, the solrock lifted me and the deceased Moonlight in the air with Psychic and propelled us towards the edge of the mountain.

And we fell.

I could hear Spiritomb's raspy voice shouting to his minions growing lower and lower through the air currents as I waited for the fateful impact when I felt myself deaccelerating. Looking down, I was surprised to find the motorboat we had arrived with right beneath me. Summer carefully deposited me and Moonlight on the floor before I ran to start the engine.

Summer managed to unleash another Flamethrower and one final Flash to keep the pursuing ghosts at bay before I managed to get the boat out of the docks. As I briefly glanced behind me, they had stopped at the shore and didn't advance further, much to my relief. If they were scared of the water or of leaving their territory, I couldn't tell.

Summer collapsed on the boat, snapping me back to reality. I quickly recalled him to his pokeball to stagnate his condition until I could find a pokemon center, leaving me alone with a dead lunatone.

I would heal Summer and make a proper funeral for Moonlight once I reached land. I would then find a way back to Mt. Pyre once I was prepared.

I would avenge Moonlight.

I would confine Spiritomb in its coffin once again.

And I would save my sister.

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 **Second chapter, longer than the first. Now that we have a character with some importance over the others, I changed to first person so I can develop his personality better. I shall alternate points of view between protagonists (don't worry, they will be clearly defined soon) as the story goes.**

 **Possibly confusing terms such as 'phantom' or 'voiding' will be explained in due time, just like our dearest duskull's lore.**

 **twilightwrites: thank you for your kind words, I appreciate them. I am aware about the abrupt ending (terribly placed cliffhanger...) and will try to avoid it in the future. As for your question, Tate and Liza are apprentices here, though that just means that they are too young or inexperienced to be officially in charge of an important gym like Mossdeep's. They do take challengers and hand badges over, they just don't have the political powers of a gym leader.**

 **Be sure to leave your reviews. Constructive criticism always helps.**


	3. Bartolomeo

**-Tate's POV-**

My boat trip towards Mossdeep wasn't nearly as animated without company. I piloted in silence for over an hour, with the boat's engine and the waves being the only sounds to break my melancholy.

I had plenty of time to think.

We had gone in that expedition in her suggestion. She had been pestering me about visiting the graveyard during the night since the first ghost sighting at the place, and for days I had been saying no.

"Tate, let's go!"

"No."

"Please, Tate, we have to go and see the ghosts! It will be cool!"

"No."

"Please!"

"No."

"Tate!"

"No."

"Let's go!"

"No."

"YES!"

"Yes."

Why did I change my mind? Why did I agree with her? Why didn't I tell papa about her stupid idea? Why did I let her take me unattended?

I was a slave of my curiosity. I let my thirst for knowledge blind my judgement.

I remembered that white orb of light, Liza's spirit, getting imprisoned inside the Odd Keystone. That could have been avoided with another no.

I glanced at poor Moonlight, who lay dead right behind me, courtesy of one of the ghosts. Banette, that was its name. Her sacrifice wouldn't have been needed had I said no.

I sadly thought about Summer. He wasn't imprisoned in a cursed cage or dead, but his pokeball weighted in my pocket. He had been badly injured during the fight. But how badly? Would he be alright later on? Would he blame me? The stoick solrock was always so quiet, so supporting of everything I did. He had been like this ever since he hatched years before. Would that change?

My thoughts finally strayed to the duskull. I didn't know what to think about him. In a way, this was partially his fault, as he had been the one who took us to Spiritomb. He was so friendly, so cheerful that I just couldn't distrust him. And that had led to this.

But then again, we would probably have found the entity sooner or later, anyway. We were roaming its territory. Besides, duskull had tried to help us afterwards; he risked his life defending me from his comrades, he had exiled himself for me. Perharps he was saying the truth. Perharps he really didn't know how badly Spiritomb's breakout could end. I didn't have the chance to read his emotions, but the injuries he received and caused were very real.

I wondered if he would attend my last wish and manage to steal the Odd Keystone with Liza. I could only pray that he did, as it was my only hope to ever hace a chance to free my sister. Though I had no idea about what he could get with that.

And there was papa. How would I explain it to him? We had sneaked away during the night, stolen his motorboat and used it to go into a potentially dangerous building infested with beings we didn't understand. How would I tell him that our reckless stunt led Liza to be imprisoned into a godly stone and set an ancient psychotic freak free, which then led to one of the pokemon he raised to die?

I would be lucky if he even believed me...

But things couldn't go all that bad, could they? I mean, there _was_ an specialist in ghosts residing in Hoenn, who was also a member of the Elite Four. Phoebe could probably handle the threat should it get too big. And even if she couldn't, there was also Sidney, who was a dark master. Not to mention that, even if with neutral type relations, the rest of the Elite Four and the champion would be helpful. If Summer and Moonlight were able to take on the ghost horde for a while, Spiritomb stood no chance.

And despite this logical thinking, I couldn't get rid of the feeling that its plan was more complex than what it seemed. The amalgamate freak seemed smarter than just charging headfirst into a fight, specially when in the body of a young girl.

At least for now, Liza was too precious for it to risk unnecessarily.

Oh, Liza...

I was so lost in my thoughts that I failed to realise that the boat was slowing down until it stopped dead on its tracks with a jolt, causing me to stumble into the controls and hit my head. Cursing under my breath, I dizzily hooked myself up and blinked rapidly before leaning over the border to see what had happened.

At first, there didn't seem to be anything; the engine was still working, furiously expelling bubbles and water around, but the boat sinply wasn't moving. I then spotted the two long, slimy tentacles wrapped tightly around the vessel, connected to something I couldn't clearly see from the surface. As I watched in horror, the tips of the tantacles _went through the hull_ of the boat and the engine soon produced a strangled screech before stopping working.

Silence.

My heart was pretty much bouncing across my chest as I waited for something to happen. The tentacles released the boat now that it couldn't flee and slowly withdrew into the water. There was no doubt that it was a ghost. No tentacool could go through objects or hold down a vessel, and that worried me. I could deal with a tentacool. Not with an ethereal monstrosity from below with, presumably, a double advantage over my already injured solrock.

I felt a shiver in my spine and turned around with an idea of what I would find. Just as expected, the thing was there, floating right in front of me.

The ghost had a blue jellyfish-like body with two long tentacles sprouting from its torax. The pokemon had a massive head with a blowhole on the top, and its deep red eyes were staring at me blankly as some water spouted from the blowhole. I tried to read its emotions, but I couldn't concentrate enough as it moved slightly closer.

"Hello." I muttered, backing against the border. Had this thing been sent by Spititomb? Sounded unlikely, since it hadn't back there in Mt. Pyre and even then, something so big couldn't outrun a motorboat like that. Or at least I hoped so.

"Hello." It answered calmly, causing me to jump! Another talking ghost?! It floated its lower half into the floor to be eye leveled with me, eyes narrowed. "Hm, you are one curious human."

"W-why?" I questioned the ghost, gulping.

"I can smell so much life in you. But you smell weirdly. There is something fishy about you. You don't smell like a regular human." The jellyfish explained, its cold tentacle shifting to touch my face, causing me to recoil. That thing was...unsettling, to say the least. "What's with you, little one?"

"Huh...I don't really know." I murmured, staying as far from that slimy tentacle as possible. "M-maybe because I'm a psychic? I-is that it?"

"Hm, perharps." The ghost hummed, floating away and leaving my personal space alone, much to my relief. But it wasn't satisfied. "No. It's not that. Well, not only that. You have been in contact with a ghost, haven't you?"

That took me by surprise. The jellyfish could smell a ghost's scent? I mean, it makes sense and all, but did that mean that the Mt. Pyre army could track me down?

" _Haven't you?_ " It repeated irritatedly, snapping me out of my daydream. It seemed to calm down upon my hurried nod. It apparently wasn't going to kill me, so I decided to take a risk.

"What kind of pokemon are you?" I asked, bracing myself for a negative reaction. I only got an annoyed sigh.

"Really? You haven't figured it out yet? I am a jellicent."

"J-jellicent?" I couldn't help but yelp in fear. Jellicent. I had heard this name before. Terribly feared among sailors sailors, these sea ghosts were apparently responsible for many disappearences of ships. They would envelop vessels with their long tentacles and pull them down to the bottom of the ocean, where they would absorb the crew's remaining life force and boil the corpses in their digestive cavity located at the blowhole.

"Yes, jellicent." He (I assumed it was a male) rocked his body in what I presumed was a nod, chuckling softly. "I know my kind has a bad reputation among humans, but worry not. I am not here to hurt you, that is, unless you try to put me in one of those red balls."

"I-I won't!" I quickly shook my head. The last thing I needed was to aggravate another dangerous pokemon.

"Wonderful." Jellicent nodded again, adopting a more serious tone. "Now, there is something I need to know. By the direction you come from, I presume you were visiting that big mountain infested with ghosts, am I correct?"

"You mean Mount Pyre? Y-yes, why?" I squealed as jellicent growled and launched a Brine from his hole into the sky.

"I have been living in this area for decades and have been around that mountain countless times. I am well aware that other ghosts live there, but as far as I know, none ever came in contact with humans, for I neer felt their scent in people crossing the sea. But I feel it on you." He floated menacingly before me, his blowhole bubbling in anger.

"I-is that bad?" I asked with a squeak, protecting my face with my hands. Jellicent sighed and stared at me intensely.

"If the old rags up there are getting agitated after so long, they aren't planning anything good. I like you, boy, don't get me wrong. You interest me and I wish you no harm, no matter what your sailor stories have to say. However, you are going to tell me what happened back at the mountain detail by detail, or I am afraid I will have to force this information from your mouth the hard way."

Strong argument. I hesitated a bit, but I told him everything. He listened patiently to my story, showing no visible reaction until the end.

"Your sister freed the Spiritomb Clan." Jellicent said slowly, as if digesting the words. "Do you know what that means to the world, boy?"

"It will try to acquire enough power to split back into the ancient army. Apparently, powered up Spiritomb warriors could dominate the world." I answered with a gulp, feeling that this wasn't all. Jellicent's slow nod proved me correct.

"They will, that's for sure. But doesn't it sound incomplete? Even if they manage to kill the absurd amount of people or pokemon necessary to split back into 108 individuals, we have to take into account that human technology has evolved drastically through the decades. You have powerful ranged weaponry and items that enhance a pokemon's attributes. And we have gotten far stronger as well."

"Then what is the issue?"

"From what you told me, Spiritomb has become the Alpha of the mountain." Jellicent said patiently, continuing upon my nod. "Every colony has its informants, its scouts. If Spiritomb has any intelligence and judgement, they have been keeping themselves informed about their enemies. They cannot just charge headfirst into a battle against opponents with heavier firepower and knowledge over their army's weaknesses."

I nodded with my eyes wide open, astounded. How could a predator that lived deep underwater have so much knowledge over war strategy and know about our technology? Then again, how could he speak english?

"The bottom lies deeper, boy." Jellicent clasped his tentacles together, staring at the dark horizon ahead thoughtfully. "Spiritomb will need to get overwhelming power in a subtle way before revealing themselves to the world. A great source of energy."

"You mean the Cave of Origin?!" I exclaimed, perking up. Team Magma had used the Cave of Origin in their schemes six months before. The cave contained tremendous levels of Primal energy within it, so much that it had been enough to transform the legendary pokemon Groudon after it was awakened from its deep slumber by Team Magma. Primal Groudon's mere presence had been enough to rise Hoenn's temperature to extreme levels and debilitate several people of heatstroke before being stopped by a heroic trainer. And even then, their titanic battle was enough to destroy half of Sootopolis City and kill over a third of the population.

If Spiritomb were to use that power to get stronger...we had little chances of survival.

"Hm, that is a possibility." Jellicent conceded. "But not what I was talking about. There is another source. Perharps not as blatantly destructive, but just as efficient."

"What is it?!" Just as powerful as the Cave of Origin...wow.

"Have you heard of the Mirage Islands?" Jellcent inquired, tilting his massive head sideways.

"Uh, yes, I have!" I nodded quickly. "The phenomenon that causes islands to seemingly disappear during certain periods and reappear later on. But aren't they well known?"

"Most of them, apparently. But there is one I am certain you don't know." Jellicent said ominously, waving his tentacles. "There is this island that shows up very rarely. It supposedly has the power Spiritomb would need. But..." He closed his eyes. "This is all I know."

"So...you think Spiritomb would try to reach this misterious island?"

"Yes. I may not know exactly what's in there, but I know it is powerful. Absurdly powerful. And not as heavily guarded as I presume the Cave of Origin is."

"But if you don't know anything about it, how are we supposed to do anything?" I said in an exasperated tone. Probably not the wisest decision, but I was growing frustrated at that giant headed jellyfish.

"I don't. But there is someone you can speak to who knows the full tale." Jellicent seemed unfazed by my rude comment. "She is very knowledgeble over Hoenn's mythology, and is also an expert when it comes to ghosts. She can fully explain the island's tale _and_ bring up ideas to deal with Spiritomb and their subordinates."

"What is her name?" I asked with a faint idea of who he was talking about.

"Phoebe. Tan skin, usually in a blue skirt, wears flowers in her hair." Jellicent described the girl. "She was the one who taught me english."

"Phoebe!" I exclaimed cheerfully, springing up and surprising the ghost. "She is a member of the Elite Four, one of the strongest trainers around! Of course! Where does she live?!"

"She lives in one of the Mirage Islands. Not a hard one to find, though, but one that tends to disappear once the sun touches its surface. If you wish me to get you there, you will have to be fast."

"Hmm, is it close to Mossdeep?" I asked, thinking. I hoped to be able to speak to Phoebe and warn papa about the threat. But to my confusion, Jellicent looked puzzled.

"Mossdeep? What do you want there?"

"I, uh, live there." I frowned. "That's where I'm going."

"Uh, boy..." Jellicent slowly raised a tentacle to point to where I had been coming from. "Mossdeep is that way..."

"WHAT?!" Well, that explained why I hadn't seen land for so long. I had been heading to the wrong direction! I was so scared, confused and sad that I hadn't realised I had gone to the direction _opposite_ to Mossdeep! "SERIOUSLY?!"

"Calm down, at least you got closer to Phoebe's island." That cheered me up. At least it hadn't been total waste. "But you will have to get there before the sunrise. Are you willing to do this?"

"Of course I am!" I promptly exclaimed. I was partially responsible for freeing Spiritomb, and I would definitely aid on imprisoning it again. And Phoebe would hopefully know how to save Liza as well. My beloved twin sister was my top priority and nothing would change that. Papa could wait a little longer.

* * *

Turns out the jellicent couldn't get me to Phoebe's island, for he had family depending on him for food and he had to hurry. He was quite efficient explaining the way, however, and I understood after a short time.

"If I may know for future references..." He said as he floated through the floor after enabling the engine's working again. "What is your name?"

"Tate." I smiled slightly. "Do you...have one?"

"Bartolomeo." He answered proudly, looking content. Now that I could feel his emotions, he definitely wasn't the mindless beast I initially thought.

"Thank you for your help, Bartolomeo." My smile grew wider as I bowed my head and the ghost struggled to return it with his large head. "You really aren't a monster."

"Of course not." Bartolomeo chuckled as he floated over to the water and began sinking. "We will meet again, Tate. I will be sure to help as I can and intervene should any of Spiritomb's allies cross these waters."

And he disappeared into the deep ocean.

I quickly turned the boat to the appropriate direction (after double checking this time) and headed towards my destination. I needed to get there before the sun rose in order to get Summer medical attention as well. Phoebe probably had ways to heal pokemon in her island.

I hoped she was home.

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 **Chapter 3 is up! Not as intense as the previous one, but Tate now has a goal and an idea over what he has gotten himself into.**

 **Can't guarantee a fixed schedule, chapters will be done when they are done. My inspiration is annoyingly defective at times.**

 **RadBattery: I will try to fix that, but no promises. I often don't realiss misplaced humor, heh. Thank you for the kind words, though!**


	4. Duskull

**-Duskull's POV-**

I could only watch dumbfounded as Alpha Spiritomb convulsed in a violent coughing fit. Fortunately, I wasn't the only one. The entire colony looked just as puzzled as I as we stared at our leader in their new host, the girl Liza. Green smoke blurted out of her mouth at each cough, and her eyes were tightly shut, though it was still faintly possible to identify Spiritomb's glowing eyes underneath her eyelids' small opening. Apparently, that body couldn't really handle the immense power they had inside of them, especially so early after the possession. The repeated attacks used had exceeded it for the moment.

And yet I couldn't get myself to move my skull into the shadows and disappear from that mess. I was just paralyzed, and not in the usual way.

"Duskull." I heard the boy, Tate, whisper next to me, snapping me out of my trance. I shifted my eye to look at him and was once again surprised at how similar he was to his sister. Same hair, same skin, same eyes, same height. Even their voices were similar. Hell, they _smelled_ the same. It made me feel even worse about aiding Spiritomb in their hideous plan...

"Would you be able to track me down from a distance?" He asked me. I nodded with a frown, confused. His life force, his 'scent', was registered in my mind; I could track him down from hundreds of miles away, provided there were shadows available around for me to feel him. But why did that matter? "Take the stone. Bring it to me. No matter what you do, don't let them have my sister."

Before I could reply, before I could even register his words, his solrock acted. The rock immediately lifted Tate and the dead lunatone to the air with a Psychic and promptly flung them and itself off the cliff into the sea below.

Rocks. Always so irritatingly pragmatic.

" **CRUSH THEM!** " Spiritomb vociferared between their coughs, their horrifying voice startling everyone to work. My scared brethren immediately charged down the summit to shore, determined to catch Tate before he escaped. Or maybe just wanting to take their distance from the angry Alpha. Either worked.

A few were still aware of my presence, though, so I didn't have much time to check whether the boy and the two rocks had managed to escape or been shattered in the ground below.

"BEAT! SLICE! DESTROY!" The sableye twins screamed as they sped towards me, each with Shadow Claws ready to strike. I winced, preparing myself to counter that.

You see, few know that, but ghost attacks are never deadly. Not a single one, no matter how much force you press on it. Our ancestors developed such techniques with their powers that disabled this kind of property in our strikes. However, they can still wound opponents. To various extents, from minimal scratched to crippling trauma. The usage of ghostly attacks when going for the voiding is seen as an act of cruelty and treachery between our kind, since an assault might cause severe injuries but never end the opponent's suffering.

To sum it all up, geting struck by the two sableye's Shadow Claws would open wounds all over me, but they would never be grave enough to void me and stop the little bastards' mauling session. They wanted me to suffer as much as possible beforehand.

The sableye were impatient and aggressive, which could be quite a problem if I wasn't fast enough. But I had the edge when it came to evasion skills. Those two barbarians couldn't hope to surpass me on Shadow Sneaking around, nobody in the colony stood a chance against me in this point. I quickly melted into my shadow right as the twins swiped their claws, leaving them to stumble into each other. I then reappeared right behind them and released two Will-O-Wisp orbs. The fire almost immediately engulfed the two sableye into purple flames as they screamed in agony, collapsing to the floor after I struck both with Shadow Ball.

"Not tonight, boys. Not yet." I murmured, chuckling.

My little show attracted the attention of three nosy shuppet, who proceeded to try subduing me with Astonish. Like I would be astonished by a few rags trying to startle me while I looked directly at them. I simply growled and charged at them, ramming the shuppet into a mausoleum with Payback. The three little things picked themselves up and squealed in fear as they sped away through the walls, not to pester me again.

Not very hard so far. But the longer I stayed there, the more attention I would call. So I once again used Shadow Sneak to sink to the comforting embrace of darkness before the rest of the colony came back, without or without the escapees.

The usual silence and emptiness of that little dimension didn't help decreasing my anxiety this time. Any threat could hop in at any moment, so I had to get out of Mt. Pyre and outrun the colony before it was too late. I doubted the Alpha could use Shadow Sneak now that they were possessing a human body and imprisoned by flesh's limitations, but they were still a force to reckon with.

I wasted no more time. Closing my eye, I focused on the first location outside of the mountain that I could think of and imagined myself there, emerging from a tree, rock, wall, whichever was possible. I tried to form a link to the location, imagining a pathway for me to float across. It might sound complicated and long, but I had tons of practice; in less than two seconds I felt a force pushing me towards my destination and let it carry me.

I immediately felt the cold air of Lilycove blowing through my eye sockets and breathed a sigh of relief as I looked curiously at my surroundings. Free at last. This time, I had arrived at the terrace of a tall building, a wide and well lit area featuring a few benches, tables and parasols near the balcony. The floor was empty at the moment, but I was still cautious while floating across. I mean, they shut down Mt. Pyre because of me and my brethren. This building didn't need the same fate.

As I reached the balcony, I slightly leaned in to take a peek and was surprised at the view that place had. I could see the entirety of Lilycove City from that spot, a sea of lit houses and buildings. By the small hill sepparating the building from the rest of the city and its unnecessary flashiness, I deduced thsi had to be the so called Department Store.

From the spot, I could recognize the glitzy, golden silhouette of the Pokemon Contest Spectacular, or whatever humans call it, and not far away the red roof of the pokemon center. I knew the woman that worked there; she was one f the few humans I'd came across who wouldn't flip after seeing me getting in througg a wall or a shadow. Guess she had seen weirder stuff in that clinic. Perharps I could go over there, get a meal and a rest, think about where to go...

 _Take the stone. Bring it to me. No matter what you do, don't let them have my sister_

...

I caught myself thinking about Liza. I grew fond of the girl as soon as I first spoke to her. Her outspoken and cheerful attitude made one hell of a contrast with my colony. The other ghosts were always so quiet, so bland, so...lifeless(sure, our definition of life is different from that of other pokemon, but you get the picture). And because of me, that cute and lively child had been reduced to a desembodied specter locked in the Odd Keystone, her young body reduced to a horrid puppet hosting 108 demons.

Tate didn't captivate me as deeply from the beginning. It had been very amusing when he first saw me and how terrified my face made him(though why he would be so scared of such an attractive sight is beyond me), or at least until that annoying solrock of his tried to scorch me, but he didn't really strike me at first.

But I had been there to see the pure horror in his face when Spiritomb possessed Liza, and witnessed how he was initially willing to fight off a hoard of ghosts with just two psychics and a renegade in order to try and save her. I also observed some cleverness and judgement of his part when he chose to retreat when things went south instead of insisting on a lost battle. Had he stayed there, we would all have been voided(and it would have been immensely cliche, if I can say so myself).

Those two reminded me so much about Rose.

Liza had shown a friendly and caring side, being polite and cheerful around me even before knowig if I was a trreat. Just like how Rose would embace me in stormy nights when I was a little phantom and mutter soothing words to calm me down...

Tate had showcased logical thinking and a strong sense of loyalty. Just like how Rose would command mein battle, being strategic and quick to act but always pausong once she concluded I was too tired. She never put the rest of the team above me, nor below me.

I wish I had shown the same loyalty wjen I needed it...

No. Enough about Rose. Too painful.

I sighed once I remembered the morbid sight of the dead lunatone. Moonlight, as Tate had called it. I never really liked psychics, nor did I ever have an affection for rocks, but I still pitied the poor thing. It had also been forced to watch its trainer being imprisoned. And had been forced to face against her body. It was just protecting its loved oned. Making sure it would still have a family to return to by the end of the night.

Moonlight stood its ground until the very end to defend its partners.

Moonlight was very unlike me.

...

Damnit, here's me again, thinking about Rose..

No, after all I had caused, I couldn't just walk away and leave Tate and the solrock(what was its name? Spring?) to clean that mess by themselves. I could track him down. I could take the Odd Keystone to him. And in whatever damn way, I could help him freeing his sister and personally shoving Spiritomb back into their stinky cage before they dominated the world or whatever.

That was a comforting thought.

* * *

I carefully, _really_ carefully took a peek from outside the Keystone's shadow to check for anyone guarding it. I had no idea if Spiritomb was expecting me to come and get it or if the rest of the crew just hadn't managed to move it and gave up, but there was nobody in the immediate surroundings.

As much as I wanted to stay safe in my hiding spot, that stupid rock was rigged to weight more when carried by a ghost or a nocturnal than when carried by a human or other types of pokemon(who created this shit has a serious prejudice against my kind). I couldn't just pull it from my position, I had to float over and push it towards the shadows.

Reluctantly, I slowly rose from the spot and came to hide right behind the Keystone. I was slightly larger than it, though, and quickly moved away to begin my suicidal task. Circling the Keystone, I pressed my hands against it and made force. Nothing happened.

Cursing under my breath, I did a quick glance around to certify that I was still alone before pushing my whole body on the Keystone and pressing much more force against it. This time I felt a slight movement and beamed excitedly, continuing my pushing. This proccess continued for a few minutes.

Funny how our intelligence disappears when we are tense, no? Because it was only then that it hit me that an object's shadow follows it as it moves along the light source.

Muttering lovely things your children probably shouldn't hear, I moved up to try and push the top of the Keystone into its shadow. There, now this could work. But just as I prepared to tackle it, something changed in the air. The temperature seemed to drop around me, filling me with fear. Only one being could cause such a feeling at me...

My body suddenly escaped my control. I was lifted higher into the air against my will and not even my intangibility could save me there. My arms were also paralyzed against my body soon afterwards, and I heard soft footsteps stepping up the plateau stairs and was unwillingly turned around to face none other than Liza.

Or rather, Alpha Spiritomb, who, unlike before, sported a much more controlled grin in that horrid green mouth. Their eyes looked slightly different as well. Colder. Cruel, but not madly like how they had assaulted us earlier.

"A-Alpha Spiritomb." I murmured under my breath, gulping and desperately trying to move. Fruitless. The Psychic was too strong. The entity merely chuckled at my attempts, which startled me. That wasn't the voice I was used to! This was a feminine voice. You'd think it would sound more natural in a girl's body than a masculine voice, but no. This one sounded even more out of place.

" **You came back.** " They emitted a calm laugh with that unnerving voice, standing right at my blind spot between sockets, though I didn't bother to move my eye to look at that freak. " **I told them you would. But I expected you to crawl to my feet begging for mercy**."

"I won't come back to this cursed colony." I hissed at Spiritomb, once again trying to break free from their Psychic, to no avail. "I have had enough of this dictatorship. I have had enough of your shit, Spiritomb. And I'll end the mess you started."

Provoking a superpowered entity while stuck in their grip probably wasn't the wisest decision I've taken(though not the most stupid). Oh, well. We all have our moments. And Spiritomb wasn't really fazed anyway.

" **Oh,** **little duskull, you are such a complicated soul, are you not? Helping some random kid to get his little sister back, how sweet. I take that as a redemption? A way to get over your betrayal from so long ago?** " They suggested with a wide smirk.

Any possible protest I had planned died in my mouth as I heard those words. Spiritomb...they knew? How could they know about _that_? "B-betrayal? W-what? H-how?" I had made sure to hide it from everyone...

" **Surprised? I can tell you are. After all, you kept it so dearly secret, no? I must say, your mind was always the most interesting one to explore.** " The tone in which those words were said gave me chills. That explained why I had always felt watched during my time in the colony... " **So much experience. So much knowledge pressed in such a small body. So much bitterness.** " They smirked, tracing a finger along my skull and prompting me to recoil. " **So much sorrow. Do you regret your choices? Do you regret leaving her, little duskull? Do you?** "

"Shut up!" I shouted, failing to move my arms and prepare a Shadow Ball to throw at that twisted mouth. No, Spiritomb was not going to make fun about that. Not about Rose! Not after everything I had gone through because of my decisions. "You know nothing!"

" **Oh, but I do.** " The freaky monster pouted, chuckling at my attempts. " **I know a lot more than you think. Your pain. Your guilt. Your regret. Hmm, but I can end it right here. I can set you free from your burden. In the same way that I have read your memories, I am capable of erasing the most painful ones. But that would require your consent and your loyalty. And, of course, a little extra price.** " They smirked.

"Which is...?"

" **The girl's brother and his solrock have escaped our domains and entered the jellicent's territory** **.** " Spiritomb growled. Ohh, Tate was alive. That took a weight off my chest. Which was put back there as soon as I heard the rest. " **I want you to bring his head on a tray to me, little duskull. Find the brat and the rock, slaughter both and bring tjem back as a trophy. Once you do that, I shall fulfill my offe-** "

"Is this a little game to you?!" I snarled, actually surprising Spiritomb for a second. I wouldn't bottle more of that crap up. I was going to get voided anyway. "You toy around with your subordinates like we are just a bunch of shit you can get rid of anytime! All of those assholes you call servants would jump in the way of a Sheer Cold to make sure you are safe and yet you still don't bother to acknowledge our names or think of us any higher than animals! If it wasn't for me, you filth, you wouldn't even have possessed this girl in the first place!"

Spiritomb went completely silent for a minute, digesting what I had said. I even began to think that I had hit a nerve when they spoke, lowly and dangerously. This time, I recognized the voice I was used to, deep and masculine.

" **You...this colony...are nothing more than tools, shortways to achieve my goals. I do not treat you better than pathetic animals because that is exactly what all of you are: a b** **unch of incompetent beasts with no purpose to exist aside from serving as my glory rug for when I finally manage to restore my former forms and engulf this world in my shadow. You are mere objects. Objects that do not need to remain wasting space after they cannot serve their purpose anymore. You claim I could not have swapped places with the girl if you were not here? Hah! You are not the only.** "

I was shocked at those words. Yes, I always knew this bastard felt no empathy or liking towards any of us, but not that their level of psychopathy was so high and merciless. Spiritomb opened their palm to reveal a pulsing orb of dark energy taking form and I widened my eye at the sight of the Dark Pulse. " **You have potential, that you do. But you have chosen to waste it with a pointless human child rather than aiding me. Which means that I will have to...persuade you back to my side.** "

They then unleashed the powerful dark beam, which struck me dead on and nullified the Psychic set on me, hurling me towards the edge of the mountain. I didn't have the chance to fall, or even to use Shadow Sneak, however, as the Psychic pull caught me again and brought me back to the angry Alpha. " **Submit.** "

"N-Never." I spat, wishing glares could void. Oh, how pleasurable that would be.

Spiritomb growled and raised their hand, tossing me away and chucking me into a mausoleum's wall. I could barely move by this point already; my entire body was screaming in pain, the Dark Pulse burning my skin from that direct blow. I had landed on a skeleton, which was destroyed once a Shadow Ball came through the hole and exploded the mausoleum.

Spiritomb was going to toy around with me. They would inflict as much pain as dearly possible and have me agonize for mercy at their feet. I was sent hurling into the sky with a scream, before being pulled back by the Psychic to the Alpha, who cackled maniacly as they pummeled me with a barrage of Faint Attacks, thougg not strong enough to make me faint. I was then gripped on by my skull and pulled forwards to meet Liza's glowing green eyes glaring at me.

" **Submit!** " They vociferated, preparing another Shadow Ball. Time was moving slowly as I watched that shadowy orb taking shape on their hand, now only an indefinite black circle. The pain was simply unbearable. My body hurt like fire where I had been struck(everywhere), and I could tell my skull had been cracked by the small line of light penetrating into my cavity.

However, there was still a trick I could try.

Gathering my last energies, I imagined a thin line connecting my soul and Spiritomb's multiple ones. Concentrating on my severe injuries, I tried to exchange my exchange with the Alpha's, if only for a bit...

"P-Pain..." I murmured "Split!"

Immediately, Spiritomb let out a painful screech and recoiled sharply backwards, dropping me to the floor from the Psychic. And I felt much better. I was still really hurt, but at least the burning sensation had gone away, and I was relieved to see the crack in my skull closing up.

"Take that!" I beamed, prompting Spiritomb to snap their neck and stare up at me. They looked way more tired now, seemingly struggling to keep themselves standing. There were also several bruises and burn marks corresponding to the ones not on my body anymore, but the scary part were their eyes.

Burning with a hate I had never ever seen or wished to.

" **You worthless verm!** " They snarled furiously, shooting one more Dark Pulse. I had no energy to dodge and got struck once again by the powerful beam, though it was far weaker this time(but still painful).

But hey, turns out luck can smile at me, after all. Because as I was pushed by the Dark Pulse, I crashed back against a hard rocky object. The Odd Keystone. I hit it right at the top, knocking the stone off balance with the impact. But right before it hit the ground, I grabbed on it and used what was left of my power to use Shadow Sneak. Both me and the Keystone sunk into the pit of darkness.

* * *

"Well..." I sighed, staring ahead at the stone. "What should I do with you?"

There was no response. I could hear something moving inside the Keystone, sonewhat like a breeze blowing through cracks. I knew it was Liza's spirit. I just hoped that she could communicate with the outside world like Spiritomb could. I wanted to apologise for putting her in that mess, but I had no clue if she could even hear me. What could she be feeling? Fear? Confusion? Most likely.

"I will take you to your brother, okay?" I promised as I slid my arm across the Keystone's surface. "I won't let the other ghosts take you back, don't worry."

Oddly enough, the stone seemed to get a bit warmer as I pronounced those words. Okay, good, perharps she could understand me. Good sign.

"But I will have to rest first." I continued in a whisper, looking somewhat uncertain at my surroundings. "I brought us here by random, but will take us to him or somewhere else where wild pokemon won't try to fest on me as soon as I have energy to use Shadow Sneak."

I had arrived at a route nearby Lilycove, the sun already rising in the horizon. But I was too tired to go to the city on my own, specially when carrying a heavy stone. Not to mention that humans usually hate my kind and sunlight bothers me. I had been lucky to find this small cave to rest at.

The Keystone's wind sound grew louder, as if Liza was getting agitated. Not that I could blame her, it should be awfully tight in there. Could she manifest a form like Spiritomb could before? I didn't know. But if it was going to be half as freaky as theirs used to, I preferred that she couldn't.

"I will do what I can to take you out of this prison." I said in a soothing tone, floating closer and leaning against the Keystone-no, Liza. "It's my fault that you are in there, after all."

I couldn't help but smile at the subtle warmth that took over the stone. A warmth that also brought me a depressing nostalgia. Rose...

"I will take a rest...as soon as the night comes, we are after Tate, okay?"

As if feeling my change of mood, Liza didn't respond.

* * *

Where the hell had this boy gone?

Tracking a person by Shadow Sneaking is rarely an accurate science. It gives us the direction to head to, a faint beacon to follow in the stormy sea of darkness. It's hard to precisely find the person you were following, though you never end up too far away from them.

However, as I jumped out of the shadows and pulled Liza along(with difficulty), I was met with neither the sea or any sort of distinguishable civilization.

We had arrived at a desolate land, a desert of dry grass blowing gently under the cold breeze. Our current spot was seemingly a small valley between two tall hills, flanked by rows of short trees with equally dry leaves. In front of me was a long path of grass leading to a carpet of sand, which I recognized as a beach. But there was no sea.

In fact, there was nothing around the land.

Only a white void surrounded that strange place. There was no wind, no birds, no water beyond it; just that invisible wall. As I looked up, I noticed that the wall also extended to the sky. We were stuck inside a gigantic box of dry vegetation, with some sort of artificial lighting replacing sunlight, for there was no sun visible and no clouds to cover it.

"What the hell is this place..." I murmured. Had I followed a terribly long direction? No, that wasn't possible. I was sure I had gone to the right place; my instincts told me so. But if I was right, where the hell had Tate gotten his ass at? This definitely wasn't Mossdeep(the kids didn't seem like the type that liked to live in a 's house).

Behind me, Liza shifted uncomfortably inside the Keystone. She was agitated again, as if this place crept her out(not that I could blame her). But as soon as I turned around to try and comfort the girl, I saw what was causing her panic.

A huge dusknoir was hovering right above her, staring intensely at the Keystone. Once it noticed my movement, it shifted its gaze to me, a red glare that penetrated into my soul.

"O-Oh!" I flinched, backing away slowly. Why a dusknoir of all pokemon, damnit! "W-what is this place? I'm a bit lost..."

"Intruders will not be tolerated." The dusknoir, a female judging by the voice, calmly disregarded my question before winding a Shadow Punch and slamming it into my face with unbeliavable speed.

The world went dark.

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 **Sorry about the delay, laziness and author's block got to me, as well as school work.**

 **So, we learn a bit more about this lovely duskull, even though his lore is still shrouded in mistery. Who exactly is Rose and how did he betray her? We'll see.**

 **As for Spiritomb's different voices and mood swings, bear with me: stories in which two minds fuse together usually end up with an erratic and inconsistent individual, at least for a while. Now jam 108 chaotic psychopaths together and you got a completely insane and moody thing.**

 **And it always bugged me to why spiritomb have fixed genders. If the imprisonement was supposed to be some sort of punishment, why bother gathering 108 souls of the same gender?**

 **As for Duskull's odd humor scattered around, I found it fitting given his personality. He seems like the type who makes sarcastic jokes while telling a story.**

 **I'll try not to take two weeks for chapter five. 'Til then.**


	5. Phoebe

**-Tate's POV-**

It was still dark when I arrived at Phoebe's island. At least I hoped it was her island, because I had seen no other land since Bartolomeo left me. Only time could tell.

It was a quite big island from what I could tell from afar, a mass of grass and tall hills that didn't let me see the interior. It was probably as big as Mossdeep, which is one of the biggest cities in Hoenn.

I carefully stopped the motorboat close to the beach, making sure to choose a somewhat hidden spot from one who came to the island but also easy to access in case a quick escape would be needed. You never know when wild pokemon can get hostile. I left Moonlight aboard. As much as I didn't want to risk losing the body, she would only burden me

As I stepped off the boat and silently crossed the fluffy sand of the beach, it occured to me that, since Summer was badly injured, I was pretty much unnarmed. He would fight to the death for me, I knew, but I wouldn'f let it happen even if I had to die in the proccess. I more than ever wished I had borrowed papa's claydol or grumpig for this expedition...

I stepped up the hill that led to the island's interior, not having found any signs of intelligent life so far. But as soon as I observed that, a murkrow cawed above me, startling me to nearly roll back down to the beach, though I held myself at a root in the last second.

Nocturnals, I thought with a grunt. They love to screw with us whenever possible.

Once I reached the top of the hill, I could see how beautiful the island really was.

The grass was shiny green, shimmering smoothly under the moonlight while blowing gently with the breeze. The landscape was filled with trees and bushes of various sizes, all sporting the same healthy green tonality as the grass and many were full of fruit. That gorgeous green carpet extended for hundreds of meters for all directions, though the several hills didn't let me see just how big that place was.

There _were_ , however, signs of civilization:down the hill, in the middle of the valley, sat a small wooden hut. It seemed roughly two meters tall, and likely not wide enough to fit a large pokemon such as a metagross or a camerupt comfortably. It was clearly abandoned, as no lights or defense lines against potential wild pokemon could be seen from my spot, though it was hard to tell. I would have to go there and check, and had to make sure I would make it in one piece.

There were pokemon around, mostly nocturnals. From my spot, I could see several murkrow perched to the taller trees, all busy with their...dark bird things. Alongside them, some natu were staring right back at me, as if expecting me to either do a magic trick or leap at them. Typical natu behavior.

From the distance, I faintly spotted a small pack of four mightyena hunting a lone dodrio, which seemed to be making little effort to escape from its predators. Supposing that they wouldn't bother me for now, I closed my eyes and concentrated on the natu and murkrow. Their emotions came to me in a flash.

No clear hostility from their part, except for curiosity from the nocturnals and caution from the psychics. Confident, I started my way towards the hut, hoping to at least find some cover until I decided where to go. Phoebe's house would probably be behind one of the hills.

But then I felt something rumbling in my pocket, before a flash of light shot out of it and took the form of my solrock, who stumbled to stay afloat as soon as he appeared.

"Summer!" I scolded, picking his pokeball to recall him. He quickly smacked it off my hands with Psychic, however, and brought it out of my reach. "What's wrong with you?! You are too injured to stay out here!"

 _Sir, please listen_ He said calmly, which was enough to shut me up. _I am not going to allow that you walk around this Arceus forsaken place on your own. There are predators here, sir, I can feel pokeball has let me rest and I am feeling better now._

"Summer!" I stepped closer to the solrock, earning no protests as I extended my hand to slide it across his rocky skin. Now that I could actually look at him, I could see how bad his injuries were. Some of his shards, especially the upper half of his crest, had been broken or shattered during the fight with the ghosts, and there were multiple scrapes all over his body, one painfully close to his eyes. Noticing my concern, Dummer descended slightly to float more easily, trying to express that he was better. While he definitely looked determined to keep going, I could feel his pain through that mask of serenity.

"Summer, you know very well that the pokeball doesn't grant you the healing you need. If predators attack, you will stand no chance in this condition against one, talk about a pack of them. I promise I will be careful, old friend. I just need to get you to Phoebe..."

 _Sir, we have to face the facts_ Summer hummed sadly, looking into my eyes _We do not know if this is the right island, even though you have followed the jellicent's instructions very well_ _. Supposing that it is, we do not know if this woman will have a way to heal me, or even if she will agree to do so if she has. But if you roam this place by yourself, you will also stand no chance; weakened or not, I am not useless. If we want to get somewhere and try to save miss Liza, we cannot take such foolish risks_

His words hit me dead on. Good old Summer, logical and straightforwards as always. I was just surprised at the amount of words being said by my serios and quiet solrock. As much as I hated to let him go around in that state, he had a point...but I was still not fully convinced "I will find a way, Summer. I can't let you get further hurt."

 _You got lucky with the jellicent_ He stung right back, sounding more agitated _Sir, understand that you will not be able to fend off an irrational and hungry beast without my help. Bartolomeo was an exception._

"Fine!" I shouted, tossing my arms upwards. "But if I see that you can't take it, you are going back to your pokeball!"

 _If I judge it appropriate_ The solrock dropped the pokeball back in my hands and proceeded to float down the hill towards the hut, not waiting for my reply.

* * *

The hut was even more decaying up close; in fact, it was a miracle that no pokemon had, even if by accident, brought it down yet. The wood was rotten and humid, and looked really old. Weeds were growing freely on the rooftop, so far as having grown short vines hanging loose by the ledge. The windows once had glass, but now only had cracked shards chucked to the frames or nothing at all. The door didn't look very strong either; I could probably force it open with my scrawny arms.

 _Sir_ Summer nudged me, moving to hover between me and the hut _There is a living being in there. A sentient one, I can feel it._

"Hm? What kind of pokemon?" I glanced at him, frowning. Another ghost, maybe?

 _A psychic, most likely. It is blocking me from reading its mind, so I cannot tell if it is hostile..._

"I can." I said with a hint of a smile. Summer had never been good with emotions, which was to be expected. "I will have to see it, though. Open the door, Summer, it might be hurt."

Indicating for me to stay back, the solrock carefully used his lateral shard to slide the door open, causing a deafening creak that, admittedly, almost made me jump out of my clothes. As we headed inside the minuscule hut, he dimly lit a Flash, hopefully not enough to alert anything from outside.

A small white creature squeaked from the corner where it sat, quickly springing to its sash-like tail to stare wide eyed at us. It had a small golden bell ontop of its head, which helped me recognizing it.

"It's a chimecho." I whispered, my eyes widening at the sight. The chimecho whimpered upon hearing me, cowering against the wall. It looked terrified, shivering wildly as it stared at me.

 _A rare kind. Can you feel its emotions, sir?_ Summer inquired, still on guard between me and the chimecho. I doubted that this cute little thing would attack me, but better safe than sorry.

I nodded, concentrating on the wind chime pokemon to try and read its emotions. Liza and I had perfected this technique not long ago, taught by papa's bossy and impatient gardevoir. But no matter how much training I had received, I wasn't prepared for the devastating wave of fear that struck me. That chimecho was absolutely _livid_ with fear! I stumbled backwards in my surprise, nearly falling to the floor before holding myself at the door frame, gasping.

"Summer, this...this chimecho is terrified! Utterly!" I whisper-exclaimed, earning a confused buzz from the solrock. Not waiting for Summer's response, I carefully pushed him out of the way to look at the chimecho. "Light up a bit more, Summer. I need to see it."

Hesitantly, he powered the Flash up so I could have a better look. It was then that I noticed how injured the chimecho was. It had multiple cuts and bruises over its tiny body, with a nasty looking bite wound bleeding on its tail. It also seemed to be starving, visible hunger mixed with horror as it stared at me. That pokemon needed urgent help. But first, I had to be able to touch it. I tried to open a calming smile, raising my open palms.

"Hey." I whispered soothingly, earning a scared whimper. "It's okay, little one, it's okay. I'm not here to hurt you. You can trust me."

The chimecho emitted a soft purr in response, not looking too convinced. I knelt down to the floor, trying not to make sudden movements, still sporting a warm smile as I looked into its eyes. "Can you speak to me?" It purred again.

 _She cannot speak telepathically, sir_ Summer translated, sounding slightly frustrated _I suppose she is too young_

"Oh, well. Translate me what she says, then." I murmured, turning back to the chimecho. "So you are a girl, huh? Very nice, you are a quite pretty girl. What could have caused your injuries, little one? Why are you here?"

Chimecho emitted a series of purrs and squeaks, flailing her little arms as she grew progressively more agitated. She seemed unaware that I was unable to understand her, so I gently shushed her.

"Calm down." I said softly, prompting her to reduce the flailing. "I am here to help. But I need to know, calmly, what is going on. I cannot understand what you are saying, but speak slowly so my solrock can translate it."

Chimecho tilted her head, apparently just realising our communication strain. Turning to Summer, she repeated her words, which he translated in my head _She says she got lost from her siblings. She let herself be carried by the wind and ended up lost here in the wilderness, where she was attacked by a..._ He glanced at her for a double check, earning more scared squeaks _Ugly...and freaky...bat monster..._

"Well, that explains your injuries." I cocked my head sideways, slowly reaching forwards with my left hand. The chimecho stared intensely at it, probably expecting an attack, but didn't cower. I was obtaining progress. "How did you lose the monster?"

Chimecho once again spoke to Summer, who once again translated it _She was forced to fight back against the bat with the attacks her siblings taught her, but still ended up badly injured as she is now. But she managed to put it to sleep with Yawn, and fled through the woods until she bumped into this shack and hid here for cover_

"Oh..." I looked over at chimecho with concern. "This happened many hours ago, no?" Upon her nod, I slowly stood up and headed outside the hut, followed closely by my rocky bodyguard.

I returned moments later with an apple in hands, smiling at the wind chime. "You look really hungry, chimecho. Listen, I have already told you I won't harm you. You can take this apple, it's all yours."

I extended my hand with the fruit towards the pokemon, who stared longly at it with her wide beady eyes...before pouncing at the apple, snatching it out of my hand and proceeding to devour it with astounding ferocity. Heck, she _was_ hungry.

"If this bat thing saw her right now, it would run for dear life." I muttered with a grin, earning a soft buzz from Summer that faintly resembled a chuckle. I patiently waited until chimecho was done with her meal before slowly crawling over to her. The little thing was sprawled on the floor and let out a burp as she watched my approach, not really looking scared anymore. I had earned her trust with this apple.

"Here." I whispered softly, carefully lifting the wind chime, mindful of her injuries. Chimecho allowed me with no protest, purring as I craddled her to my chest. While satisfied, she was still badly hurt, though.

"I suppose you don't know your way home?" I asked, sighing upon a negative shake. "Say...are there any other humans in this place?" This time she eagerly nodded, squeaking in joy with a smile. "Okay, good. We have where to resort. Now, to find our way."

* * *

It wasn't hard to move around, since the island's trees were sparse enough to offer a clear view of the surroundings. The hard part was avoiding those pesky murkrow. The Stupid little things presistently stalked us around the land, cawing loudly and occasionally swooping down to try and snatch chimecho from my arms. Being young and small fliers, Summer didn't exceed himself summoning small Rock Tombs to fend them off, though it did scare chimecho. The wind chime squealed fearfully everytime we were harassed.

As we progressed further, however, I felt something malicious creeping up on me. Barely did I feel that, a large shadow briefly covered the moon as it flew overhead, screeching defiantly. Looking up, I was shocked to see a huge and mighty crobat dive bombing in my direction, fangs exposed.

"WATCH OUT!" I squealed, jumping to my side right as the poisonous bat soared past me, avoiding a crash to the ground in the last second. The crobat immediately went back to the sky and prepared for another assault. Chimecho's panicked chimes made me deduce this was the responsible for her injuries. And that ticked me off.

"Summer, Rock Tomb! Teach it!" I exclaimed. My solrock buzzed and summoned multiple rocks from thin air, hurling them towards the crobat. However, his decreased stamina made the attack weaker and less accurate; the bat dodged them effortlessly, swooping down and slamming a Cross Poison at Summer.

"Uh, use Flamethrower!" I ordered, prompting Summer to release a stream of fire that scorched the crobat, who quickly responded by pouncing at the solrock and sinking its teeth into his shards, causing him to cry out in pain as the flier's body glew at a light green color. It was using Leech Life!

"Use Psychic!" I cried, but it was no use; Summer was already weakened, but the Leech Life finished the job. _I am sorry, sir..._ Those were his last words before blacking out. I was quick to grab his pokeball and recall him before the predator tried anything with him, but with a cost.

I was now completely helpless as the crobat turned its fierce glare to me and the badly injured chimecho, its lips curling in a smirk. I didn't even need to read its emotions to guess what was about to happen. The creature spread its four large wings and took off after me. I screamed. So did chimecho, even louder than me. I could only shield her with my body and shut my eyes, waiting for those horrendous fangs to end me...

When the forest burst with a high pitched shout from my right.

"Brooklyn, Dark Pulse!"

My eyes snapped back open just in time to witness a dark beam of energy colliding violently with the crobat, sending the poisonous flier crashing with a screech into a nearby tree, the impact bending it over. The shockwave also pushed me back a few steps, allowing me to see my savior.

My heart soared as I saw Elite Four Phoebe standing ontop of a hill, her blue skirt blowing with the wind along with her black hair decorated with multiple flowers. Her attitude was far different from the times I had seen her when younger: she looked angry and determined, rather than cheerful and lax, her fists tightly clenched as she stepped over to stay between me and the crobat.

She was dazzling.

"P-Phoebe..."

"Stay behind me, kid." She ordered with that soft voice, to which I gladly obliged, though a bit off for being addressed as a kid by someone who couldn't be over her twenties. But she was a professional, after all. I just hadn't spotted her pokemon yet. Maybe hiding in the shadows like duskull?

The crobat, somehow still conscious, screeched defiantly, raising to its feet once more and taking off to the sky. I hoped that it had given up, but it dived down soon afferwards, unleashing a powerful roar as it winded a Wing Attack to strike us. Phoebe wasn't fazed.

"Use Foul Play!" This time, I could see the blurry figure leaping from somehwere behind me, going head on with the attacker. The pokemon waited until the last second before snatching the crobat's wings and doing a frontflip, sending the bat spinning uncontrollably in the air trying to regain balance.

It was a purple humanoid figure with feline traits and two large sapphires as eyes, a bright ruby sticking out of its chest and several other gems out of its back. The pokemon, Brooklyn apparently, opened a wide smirk with its razor sharp teeth, taunting the crobat to fight back. My heart sunk once I realised it was from the same species as the creature that had pinned and almost killed me back in Mt. Pyre.

"Now, Brooklyn, send it away! Power Gem!" Phoebe shouted, prompting Brooklyn to jump and puff its chest. Its ruby briefly lit in a bright light before a powerful beam of crimson energy erupted from the jewel, striking the dizzy crobat dead on. The attack launched the predator far away towards the beach, its pained scream disappearing through the wind.

"Good job, Brooks. As always." Phoebe praised her ghost with a warm smile, bending over to pat it on the head. She then turned around her dark eyes gazing curiously at me. "You alright, kid? Did it hurt you?"

"N-no..." I stuttered. "I-I-" At this moment, chimecho squealed happily, jumping off my arms to land right between a surprised Phoebe's, nuzzling affectionately against her chest.

"Oh, it's Izzy! You are here!" Phoebe cried in delight, hugging the chimecho tightly. "I had been looking for her all over! Thank you!" The Elite Four member opened a wide smile, craddling the wind chime to her with one arm while pulling me in an excited hug with the other, probably getting me beet red as a result. She let me go a moment later, her eyes lighting up. "Hey, I think I recognize you! Aren't you Garrow's kid? Nate, isn't it?"

"T-Tate." I corrected awkwardly, stepping back. "B-but yes, that's me."

"You have grown so much! How is your sister?" That question hit me like a bullet; how was I going to tell her about my issue? She was really kind and helpful, but you can never know. "And what could you be doing so far from Mossdeep in the middle of the night?"

"Miss Phoebe, I'm, uh, going to explain everything, but this chimecho needs medical treatment, and fast!" I urged her, pointing at Izzy's multiple injuries. Phoebe's eyes widened upon following my finger, just noticing them. "And so does my solrock! Please, tell me you have some way to heal them!"

I probably sounded ridiculous, but Summer's well being came first over my, uh, admiration for that strange woman. So did Izzy's. To my relief, Phoebe hurriedly nodded.

"Yes, yes, you are right! Absolutely! Follow me to my ranch and they will get the needed aid! And then we can talk."

* * *

When Bartolomeo told me the island would disappear during daytime, I didn't really know what to expect if it happened while I was there.

But, as it turns out, the legend about the mirage islands is true.

Says the legend that Palkia once turned its eyes to the Hoenn region. The legendary would have loved the region; it was impressed by the beautiful archipelago formed around that huge volcano island, as well as the region's pokemon. Palkia wanted to add its own finger to that gorgeous place. In a brink of inspiration, it created a variety of islands of different sizes and adapted to different environments. Not yet satisfied with its creation, the legendary gifted the islands special properties: when meeting certain conditions, said islands could dettach from reality itself and disappear entirely from where they once lay, presumably to some sort of pocket dimension. Few ever knew where they would go. When met by similar conditions, the islands would shift back to their place, as if nothing happened.

Needlessly to say, I freaked out once I looked over at the horizon...and found it to be fading away. The entire island seemed to be overtaken by a white, thick mist as the sun touched its surface, soon encasing the mass of land in a gigantic square.

Phoebe quickly explained to me that this was normal; contact with sunlight was the trigger for the dimensional phenomenon of this particular location. This blank void was the so called pocket dimension the mirage islands are sent to after disappearing. She didn't mention why she could have decided to set her house in such a volatile place.

I couldn't help but shudder everytime I looked at the horizon to see those huge blank walls encasing the entire island within its void. What could be beyond that layer?

Maybe some things are better left uknown...

* * *

Phoebe's ranch was a quite pictresque sight. It stood on a valley right beyond the hills I had been heading to, a big wooden house with a roof covered in straw. The property was surrounded by a wide terrain of fences, taking most of the valley's area to itself. I suppose you can do that when you have no neighbors. The fences were apparently a way to keep predators at bay when Phoebe was off taking challengers or doing other business. Scattered over the terrain were small huts that served as shelter for the groups of wild pokemon that lived alongside her, safe from danger.

Unlike pokemon centers, her nursing team didn't consist of chansey, blissey or wigglytuff: it was made of chimecho. The group of wind chimes was dearly relieved once they were told Izzy had been found, and were more than happy to take care of her and the solrock that defended her from the evil crobat. I knew that chimecho can learn a bunch of healing moves, so I trusted Summer with them without hesitation upon Phoebe's reassuring.

Right now, I was sitting on the dining table, across from the ghost user. I really didn't know how to start the story. Now that I was actually facing my beacon of hope, how was I supposed to tell the crap Liza and I had made and expect her to go out of her way and help? How was I supposed to make her believe in my words?

"Start from the beginning." She suggested with a comforting smile. "I can tell you went through harsh times. I'm listening."

And so I told her. From our trip to Mt. Pyre to my escape from Spiritomb's lair, she heard everything in silence, occasionally frowning or widening her eyes at some detail. When I mentioned my encounter with Bartolomeo, she opened a faint smile.

"Oh, Barty. I'm glad to hear that he has evolved. I was the one who taught him how to talk, you know? They grow up so fast..." She sighed deeply, going back to her thoughts.

It was only after a moment of an awkward silence that she spoke again. "What can I tell you, Tate...you guys did screw up."

"That I know, thank you." I grunted, not facing her.

"For now, we have to hope that this duskull you befriended will be able to get the Keystone to us, supposing he's willing to." She sighed, tapping her fingers on the table. "I am good at judging the character of a ghost. From what you've told me, this one will probably try to help you, but we can't be sure."

"He will. I know it." I tried to sound more confident than I really was. But I felt it; duskull would bring Liza back to me.

"In that case, wonderful." Phoebe giggled softly, making me blush slightly. I forced myself to focus.

"Bartolomeo told me you knew about this powerful force Spiritomb is after. Is it true?"

"Yeah, it is." She nodded gravely, her expression now serious and thoughtful.

"So? What is it? Where is it?" I asked, growing impatient at her serenity. She again ignored me for a moment.

"This force we are talking about...it's not a single object. They are pokemon. Immensely powerful pokemon whose capabilities extend beyond the understandable."

"Pokemon? Are they legendaries?" I suddenly got wary. Last time a legendary had been involved in an evil scheme...well, Hoenn was still recovering from the destruction.

"The sheer essence of creation and destruction lies within the hands of these almost omnipotent creatures." Phoebe nodded, looking slightly amused at my tension. "They are called the Unown. The arms of the Creator."

"Excuse me?!" I gasped, looking wide eyed at the snickering Elite Four member. "Arms of the Creator? Isn't there a tale that tells how Arceus shaped the universe with its one thousand arms?"

"There you go, you figured it out!" Phoebe beamed. "Yes, the Unown are the so called arms. I don't know why they were entitled that way, but that's not important. What's important is how dangerous they are." Her face darkened back to seriousness.

"If they are so dangerous, can't they, you know, destroy Spiritomb as soon as it comes close to them?" I inquired, trying not to imagine Liza's body being destroyed by some omnipotent monsters.

"They probably can, but this is not how the Unown work." Phoebe explained patiently. "They need a master, a brain in order to activate and direct their powers. Unless they were told to do so, they would offer Spiritomb no harm."

"Okay, but...aren't they supposed to be under Arceus' care?" I frowned.

"Nobody really knows why, but Arceus sealed the Unown away a long time ago." Phoebe sighed, closing her eyes. "Maybe it feared their power. Maybe it feared that they could corrupt the other legendaries. Whatever happened, they were relocated to a special prison of sorts, created especially for them by Palkia itself. This prison has the same features of the mirage islands."

"Appearing and disappearing." I murmured.

"Yes, but to a far larger scale. It can show up anywhere in the world, as long as one accomplishes the needed tasks to summon it. Which are extremely hard, though I will need to check the books to remember the details." She announced as she stood from the chair, heading over to the room next to the dining room.

"Ok, good." At least Spiritomb would have some difficulty getting to the Unown. But there was still an issue bothering me. "Phoebe...do you think there is a way to get Liza back?"

The ghost trainer stopped dead on her tracks, briefly frozen in place. When she turned back to me, I caught a glimpse of a pitying face before she cracked a confident smile at me. "I assure you, Tate, that there is. We are gonna kick Spiritomb's cranky ass off your sister and fix her back up."

As soon as I opened my mouth to reply, a thundering feminine voice suddenly echoed through the room.

"Phoebe? Can I rise up, are you busy?"

"I kinda am, Beth. Is it urgent?" Phoebe asked to the wind, while I still tried to identify the source of the voice. Its next words made my heart soar.

"Yes. I found an intruder sneaking up on the island, a duskull carrying a strange and heavy stone. I would normally have just deposited them back to the continent, but this stone has an...off aura that you might want to check."

"Duskull? Stone?" Phoebe looked over at me in astonishment, probably finding the same look at my face. "S-show them to me, yes."

I looked over at the nearest wall, where the shadows began moving, and couldn't help but squirm upon seeing what came out of if. A horrifying black creature, closely resembling the ghostly cyclops I had seen back at Mt. Pyre, popped its upper torso and head out of the wall, bowing its head at Phoebe before locking its red gaze at me.

"Phoebe? Should I get this kid away?" The ghost growled deeply, causing me to yelp in fear.

"No, no, Beth. He isn't harmful." Phoebe quickly assured. Daisy relaxed slightly, her glare a bit less intense now as she moved her entire body out. I observed a series of yellow lines across her body, as well as a drawing disturbingly similar to a human mouth and eyes on its abdomen. But what really called my attention was what she was holding.

A familiar skully face was brought to light, tickly stuck between Beth's arm and torso. The poor duskull looked badly injured and tired, vainly struggling to break free.

Followed by him, the creature pulled out the Odd Keystone.

"YOU DID IT!" I squealed, startling everyone in the room. In a stunt that could have cost my life hadn't Phoebe been there to assure my safety, I rushed forwards and forcefully snatched the skully ghost out of Beth's grip, who was too stunned to react quickly enough.

"You did it! You saved her from them!" I squeezed Duskull in a hug, hopping excitedly. The poor thing groaned in pain and annoyance, slipping through my flesh to escape my embrace and fall face first to the floor.

"Yeah, yeah, I did! Jeez, it's okay." He murmured, staggering back to the air and giving Beth a death stare. "You _could_ have let me explain! Would have sparred me from a headache!"

"Explanations demand a time that you didn't have." The cyclop calmly replied, floating aside to let Phoebe step over to Duskull.

"Oh, poor thing. You look terrible." She said with a caring tone, reaching out to stroke the skully ghost's cloak-like skin, who surprisingly didn't recoil. "I can tell you went through so much...I'll have you healed up."

"Thanks..." Duskull glanced at me with his roaming eye, obviously in a lost of what to do before I gave him a stern look. "Thank you, kind lady...may I know who you are and what this freaky mr. mime cage is?"

"Mr. mime cage? That's one I hadn't heard before!" Phoebe let out a hearthly laugh, tapping Duskull on his side softly while carefully scooping him up. "For now, you can call me Phoebe. I am a specialist in ghosts, and you can be sure to you'll be properly cared for, sweetie."

"Just 'Duskull' is more than fine, lady." The ghost grunted, shooting me another glance. "Should...I let her? Is it safe?"

"Go ahead, she's nice." I assured him. Duskull nodded faintly and let himself be taken to Phoebe's nursery, though we still would have to talk later. I needed to properly thank him.

I turned around to look at the Keystone, which was being closely watched by Beth. Once she realised I was staring, the cyclop ghost glanced up at me with a cautious interest.

"I will be keeping an eye out for you and the duskull, boy. Phoebe may trust you, but it will take more to convince me." And with that ominous statement, she melted back into the shadows to Arceus-knows-where and left me alone.

"Liza." I called in a whisper as I knelt down by the Odd Keystone and reached out to rub my hand against the cold surface. To my surprise, the stone began warming up to my touch as time went by, as if Liza was happy to see me. There was a soft rumbling inside, which made me smile. "Hey, sissy...I already miss you..."

I sighed deeply, trying to put my ideas in order. This was harder than expected. I still couldn't help but wonder if this wasn't my fault. And I really didn't know how to tell her about Moonlight. "I am so sorry, Liza...I really am...everything has gone wrong..." The stone grew progressively warmer as I spoke. I didn't need to read emotions to guess that she was trying to comfort me. "I-I'm trying to fix this up, okay? Phoebe knows a way...that duskull we met is helping...we will get out of this, okay? I-I love you, sissy."

And, as I slipped my hand off the Keystone, I felt a consciousness touching mine, a faint, soft whisper echoing through the room like the blowing wind.

" _I love you too._ "

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 **Little to say in my defense aside from a ton of schoolwork. I still make no promises for the future.**

 **Here we are, hope you liked this version of Phoebe. Tate does have a small crush on her in case you're wondering, but I will clarify early on that nothing's coming out of it. It's not like their ages are compatible, she is in her twenties and he's...dunno, 12? 13? Less than 15, I'm sure.**

 **And Tate's got a new little friend as well, the sweet chimecho Izzy. We are gonna see more of her as it goes.**

 **Most importantly, Tate and Liza have been reunited by Duskull. Now the mystic combination is together again, though they still have a long way to go.**

 **Hope you enjoyed chapter 5, chapter 6 coming as soon as school projects and life overall let me.**


	6. On hiatus

**\- Author's note -**

This story is going on hiatus for undefined time. I'm not satisfied with how it's come and how it was going to continue, and I currently have little to no patience or inspiration to reboot it or fix up plot issues as it goes.

Not to mention that school and other activities restrain me, and my lack of inspiration leads to loong periods between posting and I don't feel well doing this.

I'm sorry.


End file.
